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20th Anniversary Links

 

Building On The Past To Protect The Future
Celebrating 20 Years Of Progress

UST Program Anniversary Logo

2004 marks the 20th anniversary of the federal Underground Storage Tanks Program. In 1983, the CBS program 60 Minutes aired a story called "Check the Water", which brought national attention to families suffering from the effects of gasoline leaking from underground storage tanks at gas stations and other places. Less than a year later, on November 8, 1984, President Reagan signed into law legislation designed to protect the public from these petroleum releases.

In the 20 years that have passed, more than 1.5 million old, unsafe tanks have closed; almost 300,000 petroleum leaks have been cleaned up; nearly all underground tanks have been upgraded or replaced; and newly discovered leaks have dropped dramatically, from a high of over 66,000 in 1990 to roughly 12,000 last year.

As we celebrate our 20th anniversary and reflect on these accomplishments, we must also focus on our remaining challenges, including: improving operational compliance; completing cleanups of known petroleum leaks; minimizing new leaks from new and upgraded tank systems; and cleaning up and reusing abandoned gas stations and other petroleum brownfield sites.

To mark the 20th anniversary through the year, EPA's Office of Underground Storage Tanks (OUST) will highlight many of our past accomplishments and future challenges (summarized in a 2-page fact sheet) and host a number of events. In the coming weeks and months, please look for new information on this web page highlighting what's being done to improve compliance; clean up known petroleum leaks; ensure new tanks are better designed and operated; and recycle America's abandoned gas stations. On March 1, 2004, EPA released a report celebrating the 20th anniversary of EPA's Underground Storage Tank Program at the national conference on underground storage tanks in New Orleans.

Recycling Abandoned Gas Stations Cleaning Up Petroleum Leaks Improving Compliance Region of the Month Highlight Calendar Evaluating Tank Performance
 Current Issues

  • Frequency And Extent Of Dispenser Releases At Underground Storage Tank Facilities In South Carolina. (EPA-510-R-04-004, September 2004). This report presents the results of information collected and analyzed from underground storage tank (UST) closure and assessment reports at sites in South Carolina.

  • Guidelines for the 2005 Brownfields Assessment, Cleanup and Revolving Loan Fund Grants are now available online. Proposals are due November 12, 2004. For more information please see the Cleaning Up and Reusing Abandoned Gas Stations webpage or the Brownfields website.

  • Draft study titled "Evaluation of Releases From New and Upgraded Underground Storage Tank Systems" distributed for peer review.

  • EPA's Offices of Ground Water and Drinking Water and Underground Storage Tanks are working together to reduce the risks of underground storage tanks to drinking water sources. In a July 20, 2004 joint memo to Regional Water Division Directors and UST/LUST Directors, Cynthia Dougherty and Cliff Rothenstein outlined recommended actions to determine whether USTs are one of the risks to drinking water sources in their Region, and to coordinate work to make the best use of resources and increase public health protection.

  • Remarks by Cliff Rothenstein at the 13th Annual State Fund Administrators Conference. June 21, 2004.

  • Model Underground Storage Tank Environmental Results Program Workbook.(EPA-510-R-04-003). June 2004.

  • EPA Announces Award of $23.1 Million in Grants to Address Petroleum Brownfields. For more information, see these EPA Press Releases:

  • OUST Forms Team to Investigate Potential Presence of Lead Scavengers at LUST Sites.

  • Corrective Action Performance Measures Data (through March 31, 2004) (Data on number of active and closed tanks, releases reported, cleanups initiated and completed, and emergency responses as reported by the States on a semi-annual basis are now available. They are provided in tabular format for all States and territories, by region, by reporting period. PDF file, 15 pages, 196 KB).

  • How to Evaluate Alternative Cleanup Technologies for Underground Storage Tank Sites: A Guide for Corrective Action Plan Reviewers. (EPA 510-B-94-003; EPA 510-B-95-007; and EPA 510-R-04-002). This manual, which covered 10 remedial technologies, was last updated in May 1995. It has recently been updated to add two additional technolgy chapters and the chapter on monitored natural attenuation has been revised. The revised document carries the same title but a new number – EPA 510-R-04-002.

  • Information Sheet on Reuse of Abandoned Gas Station Sites

  • Multi-Site Memo to Regional Division Directors (PDF file, 8 pages, 110 KB)

  • On March 1, EPA released its 20th anniversary report in New Orleans, LA at the 16th annual UST/LUST national conference.

    • Map of United States showing the country divided into different regionsYou can find up-to-date information about the UST program in your state by clicking on the map to the right.

    What are USTs? Why do we regulate USTs? - About 680,000 underground storage tank systems (USTs) nationwide store petroleum or hazardous substances that can harm the environment and human health if the USTs release their stored contents. This link will connect you with information sources that describe the development of UST regulations and their effectiveness today in protecting us and our environment from leaking USTs.

    How can that abandoned gas station potentially revitalize your community? - This link will connect you with a developing story of how cooperative stakeholders are putting together public-private partnerships to clean up petroleum contaminated sites, which may also help revitalize these sites by returning them to productive economic and public use. This page also contains information to aid in the development of future reuse projects.

    How can we prevent USTs from leaking? - USTs that are installed, operated, and maintained properly should not leak, thus avoiding future contamination and cleanup problems. This link will connect you with a variety of efforts that are aimed at making sure – as much as reasonably possible – that UST systems do not leak.

    What does it take to clean up leaks and protect us from leaking USTs? - Leaking USTs can leave considerable cleanup problems. This link will connect you with cleanup technologies and strategies stakeholders use to make contaminated UST sites safe and productive again – from USTfields to pay-for-performance agreements to more traditional approaches.

    Highlights
    Cleaning Up UST System Releases
    Corrective Action Measures
    Detecting Releases
    Hazardous Substance USTs
    Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund
    Meeting UST System Requirements
    MTBE / Other Oxygenates
    Operating and Maintaining UST Systems
    Pay For Performance (PFP) Contracting
    Pictures: Diagrams, Clipart, and Photos
    Preventing UST Systems from Leaking
    Recycling Abandoned Gas Stations
    Remediation Technologies
    Report to Congress on Compliance Plan
    Risk-Based Decision-Making
    Safe Fuel Handling Practices
    USTfields Initiative
    UST-Related Policy Directives
    UST Technical Compendium
    More Information
    [Browse EPA Topics]

    With the exception of UST systems located on Indian Lands, states have the primary authority to implement the UST program within their boundaries. For the latest information on the status of the UST programs in the states, click on the applicable state (or Region) below. These links provide state (or Regional) contact information, plus up-to-date data on the UST system universe in each state (or Region) as well as the status of implementing various national program initiatives.

    Map of United States showing the country divided into different regions

    R10 R10 AK ID OR WA R9 R9 AS AZ CA CNMI GU HI NV R8 CO MT ND SD UT WY R7 IA KS MO NE R6 AR LA NM OK TX R5 IL IN MI MN OH WI R4 AL FL GA KY MS NC SC TN R3 DC DE DE MD MD PA VA WV R2 NJ NJ NY PR VI R1 CT CT MA MA ME NH NH RI RI VT

    Region 1 - comprised of the states Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

    Region 2 - comprised of the states New Jersey, New York, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

    Region 3 - comprised of the states Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

    Region 4 - comprised of the states Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

    Region 5 - comprised of the states Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin.

    Region 6 - comprised of the states Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.

    Region 7 - comprised of the states Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska.

    Region 8 - comprised of the states Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming.

    Region 9 - comprised of the states Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, and the territories of Guam and American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

    Region 10 - comprised of the states Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.

     

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